IBS Low Starch Diet.

Can diet help those with Irritable Bowel Syndrome and other illness such as arthritis?

Carol Sinclair had suffered from Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) for most of her life. She said that even as a child she had really severe 'gut' pains and bloating.

Eventually she discovered the cause of her problem was starch in the diet.

Peter Blight spoke with Carol about her illness and the path of discovery that led her to a cure that worked for her.

She told Peter that she went to many doctors who told her it was "all in the mind". But through research and experimenting with her own diet, she discovered that starchy foods made her condition worse. She said she discovered this by a piece of luck - by overhearing a doctor from Cambridge talking about this theory. She immediately gave up wheat in her diet and felt a difference.

She said her findings also apply to people with arthritic disease.

She said an Australian immunologist had discovered the link between starch foods that trigger a range of symptoms in people who have a particular gene - (the hlab27 gene) Symptoms such as gut pain, back ache, foot pains, eye pains, acid reflux, stiff back, stiff neck, sciatica, achilles tendinitis and frozen shoulder - result from this gene. She said that many people who go to their doctors with this list of conditions sadly appear to be neurotic!

"The condition causes pain all over the body because it causes inflamation all over - and it is triggered by starch in the diet

She said it was all connected to the immune system. She said it was something that many Australians had inheritied as so many have ancestors from the northern hemisphere.

She said that people with this condition have to give up certain grain based foods - they should do this in stages - as they must find out the level of starch that they can live with.

Carol also said that some drugs for these conditions have been removed - which makes the need to look at other ways to cope with the symptoms important.

Carol summarised her findings by saying :

It's so simple people hardly believe it!

"The IBS Low-starch Diet" by Carol SinclairPublished by Ninox Publishing, May 2005Available Angus and Robertson and Dymocks.
IBS Talking Point

Hear Peter Blight talking with Carol Sinclair&nbsp

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